People light candles during a prayer vigil for the victims of a mass shooting earlier in the day, Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Shreveport, La. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Police have identified Shamar Elkins as the Louisiana man who fatally shot eight children on Sunday (April 19). Additional details from the case revealed that seven of the kids were his, and that the attack on his family stretched across two houses in a Shreveport, Louisiana, neighborhood.
The shooting was the deadliest in the U.S. since January 2024, when eight people were killed in a Chicago suburb, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
Shamar Elkins’ wife is 34-year-old Shaneiqua Pugh. They married about two years ago, per CNN. Family members say she is the mother of some of the children, and according to The Guardian, the exact number is four. The other woman Elkins shot is allegedly the mother of his three other children, per TG.
Shaneiqua suffered “very serious injuries,” said Shreveport police spokesman Chris Bordelon. Both women were critically wounded in the attack just after 6 a.m. Sunday, according to the Shreveport Police Department. PD said in a statement Monday that it is hopeful both women will recover.
Officials said the children three boys and five girls ranged in age from 3 to 11. Some had attempted to escape out of the back door, according to a statement by Rep. Tammy Phelps. Per the Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office, as reported by CNN, the children were:
Another child, 13 years old, jumped from the house’s roof to escape. He reportedly broke some bones, but was expected to survive. Shamar Elkins fled the scene, reportedly carjacked a vehicle, and later died after officers fired on him during the pursuit. They believe he acted alone.
“This is a tragic situation maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had,” Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux said.
Authorities said the attack began before dawn, when Shamar Elkins shot a woman at one home in the neighborhood south of downtown. Then, he fatally shot the children at another house a few blocks away. Elkins’ nephew was among the slain children, according to the Caddo Parish coroner’s office.
Liza Demming lives two houses down from where Elkins shot most of the victims. She said her security camera captured video of the suspect, Elkins, running away along with the sound of two shots.“That’s pretty much all I saw, was him running out of the house and the cars leaving,” she said. Demming later went outside and saw the covered body of a child on the home’s roof. State Rep. Tammy Phelps said some children tried to get away through the back door.
“I can’t even imagine what the police officers, first responders actually dealt with when they got here today,” Liza Demming said.
The investigation is ongoing, and the motive has not been revealed. According to a cousin of one of the women shot, Elkins and his wife were in the process of separating and had been due in court on Monday. Crystal Brown, the cousin, said the couple had been arguing about the separation before the shooting. “He murdered his children,” she said.
In an interview with The New York Times, Elkins’ stepfather, Marcus Jackson, said he was having “dark thoughts” after his wife had asked for a divorce. Jackson reportedly said he had told Elkins he could “beat” whatever he was going through, but Elkins reaction didn’t appear hopeful.
“Then I remember him telling me: “Some people don’t come back from their demons,” Jackson shared.
Elkins’ mother, Mahelia Elkins, said she didn’t know what marital problems he was having. However, he allegedly called her and Jackson on April 5, and tearfully said he wanted to take his own life. She said when she reached out two weeks ago, he texted back, “Everyone is doing OK.” However, when she asked about the kids last Thursday, days before his killing spree, Shamar allegedly didn’t text her back.
So far, investigators were not aware of other domestic violence issues involving Elkins, Shreveport police spokesman Chris Bordelon said. He has two prior criminal convictions in Caddo District Court, including a DUIin 2016 and a charge for illegal use of weapons in March 2019. He ultimately pled guilty and was placed on probation. A police report said Shamar Elkins claimed someone driving a vehicle pulled a gun on him, “and then took off.” He had responded by firing at the alleged vehicle five times. The shooting took place near a schoolyard where kids were playing.
Brown, the cousin of one of the women who was shot, said she was at church Sunday morning when the pastor told congregants about the shooting at the end of the service. She described the children as happy and friendly.
“They worked, came home, they stuck to themselves,” she said. “Just an everyday family.”
Mourners laid flowers outside the single-story house on 79th Street and others lit candles for the victims in the parking lot of a nearby shopping plaza.
Associated Press writers Sophie Bates, Lekan Oyekanmi, Gerald Herbert, John Seewer, Jake Offenhartz, Jeff Martin, Steve Karnowski, Terry Tang and Christopher Weber contributed to this report via AP Newsroom.
